Category: News

Organised by RIAM (Network of Agroecological Initiatives in Morocco) as part of the NATAE project, the Agroecological Caravan took place from 29 to 31 October 2026 across three key stops in the Fès-Meknès region, under the theme “Start small, succeed together: agroecology within everyone’s reach”. It was designed as an immersive soil-to-plate journey to promote sovereign, resilient and sustainable agriculture. The initiative aimed to raise awareness of agroecology and the Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) among smallholder farmers, while showing in practice that agroecological farming is viable without heavy investment. The caravan set out to create a space for horizontal, farmer-to-farmer exchange and to foster direct dialogue between researchers, technicians, institutional stakeholders and producers. It also aimed to support the co-creation of sustainable local dynamics and to bring citizens closer to the issues surrounding healthy, local food.

The first day was devoted entirely to showcasing traditional knowledge and identifying the day-to-day constraints faced on the ground, giving farmers a full voice in co-creating tailored alternatives. The second day took participants into the heart of a model farm to demonstrate that agroecology is feasible on small farms. The farm proved it by example, and observation and hands-on practice in the field (living soil, mulching, green manures) helped remove technical barriers. Finally, the third day, held at Al Akhawayn University, was squarely aimed at consumers, students, professors and farmers. During a round table that brought together a nutrition specialist, the President of RIAM and agroecology practitioners, participants explored the profound connections between soil health, human health and sustainable local food systems.

I changed SPG to PGS because that’s the standard English abbreviation. I also put RIAM’s name in English, so swap in the French name (Réseau des Initiatives Agroécologiques au Maroc) if you’d rather keep it.

On October 19, 2026, in BouSalem, INAT in partnership with INGC, CRDA and CTV organised the restitution meeting for local stakeholders. The event gathered around eighty participants mainly farmers and the representative board of the Living Lab of El Krib.

This day was an opportunity to present the two years results of Agroecological Practices combinations, to discuss how the Living Labs supported the agroecological transition, to share experience through the testimony of farmers, researcher and local authorities, and to finish by discussing the next steps and how to pass from passive beneficiary to active participant in the agroecological transition and the future of the LL in Krib region.

Despite the project’s short lifetime, all the participants were motivated and agree to continue working together to assisting and overcoming current challenges because agroecology is the only sustainable path and solution to protect and preserve the land for future generations.

Location: CIHEAM Montpellier
Date: September 29–30, 2026

The NATAE Project, in association with the DIONYSUS Project, will host a Policy Conference titled “What scientific and political mechanisms for the future of agroecological transition in the Mediterranean region? Transdisciplinarity, assessments and scaling up” on 29–30 September 2026 at CIHEAM Montpellier.

Over two days, the conference will bring together researchers, policymakers, and practitioners from across the Mediterranean and beyond, including Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Egypt, Mauritania, France, and Germany, to discuss multi-stakeholder approaches to agroecology, the performance and scaling-up of Living Lab methodologies, and the financing and institutional mechanisms needed to support agroecological transition at scale.
The programme includes seven thematic sessions covering topics such as food security, territorial economies, and the transition from action research to public policy, with contributions from institutions including CIHEAM-IAMM, DG-AGRI, OSS, AFD, AfDB, and multiple national ministries and universities across the region.

After the first session held on May 5 and 6, INAT and INGC for NATAE project organized with INRGREF – SCALARE (Prima Project) the second training session for 18 farmers from El Krib LL on June 25, 2026.

The training focused on agoecology practices and agroforetsry and included five sessions about:

• Ruminant nutrition and the importance of feed mixture
• Agroforestery
• Hydro-agricultural developpement
• forage mixture and crop rotation
• Conservation agriculture

Farmers showed interest and discussed mainly on promoting sustainable and efficient agroecological practices with a particular focus on the importance of agroforestry.

As part of the Horizon Europe NATAE research project, the project team from the Agriculture, Territory and Environment Division organized a second training session on “Production and Preservation of Farmer Seeds” on June 21, 2026, at the Tizi-Ouzou Living Lab.

The objective of the training was to strengthen the capacities of local stakeholders in the production, selection, conservation, and collective management of farmer seeds, while supporting the establishment of a sustainable community seed bank.

The training was delivered by Professor Tellah Sihem, a lecturer at the National Higher Agronomic School of Algiers (ENSA). The session combined both theoretical and practical aspects of seed production, as well as the creation and management of a farmer seed bank, and included hands-on field exercises.

The participating farmers showed great interest in the training and expressed their willingness to establish a seed bank in order to preserve the rich genetic heritage that exists within their territory.

INAT and INGC organised a training session for 12 farmers from El Krib LL region on May 5-6, 2026.

The training focused on strategies to reduce agricultural inputs and included three main sessions about:

• weed control,
• the integrated pest management
• and the mineral nutrition management.

The session combined theoritical presentations with practical discussions aimed at promoting sustainable and efficient agroecological practices. Farmers showed interest and active participation, mainly in discussion related to improving crop management.

At the cultural city in Tunis, under the title: “Green Waves-Small Actions, Big Impacts”, NATAE was invited to participate to this event through a stand.

During this event, INAT team shared with the participants the activities of the NATAE’s project focusing on the experience of living lab of El Krib at Siliana via an interactive stand exhibiting flyers and rollups.

The event was an opportunity to share with officials, participants and kids the NATAE results and agroecology transition.

This webinar explores initiatives that promote the testing and dissemination of agroecological practices, such as pilot farms, demonstration fields, and networks of “lead” farmers.
These initiatives, which enable the testing, evaluation, and dissemination of practices, are essential for ensuring the success of agroecological transition. By combining real-world experimentation, peer learning, and technical support, they make it possible to adapt practices to local contexts; reduce both the perceived and actual risks faced by farmers; and promote the adoption of practices and the transfer of knowledge.
Presentations by various speakers (research institutes, technical institutes, NGOs) will provide an opportunity to discuss the conditions for success, limitations, and lessons learned from these initiatives.

As part of the NATAE activities, INAT organized a three-day visit involving researchers from IAMM, IUCN, and ICARDA. Organized in collaboration with INGC, this visit provided a valuable opportunity for exchange and collaboration, featuring a range of diverse and engaging activities.

El Rochen (Zarzis south east of Tunisia) is an agroecological farm dedicated to experimentation and knowledge transfer in support of the agroecological transition in Tunisia. In collaboration with the eco-farm OMI HNIA, located in Cap Negro (North Tunisia), El Rochen co-organised the second edition of the Zarzis agroecology festival.

Held from March 29 to 31, 2026, the festival gathered farmers, skateholder, citizen, holders of traditional knowledge, researchers, and associations from France, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Senegal and Tunisia. They engaged in discussion, sharing and exchange about knowledge and experiences on agroecology.

In this context, NATAE project participated by a stand during the three days and a project presentation during the second day.